


A Voluntary Prisoner

by Somariel



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AU - Alternate Episode, Canon Disabled Character, Earning Trust, Friendship, Gen, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-05
Updated: 2011-03-15
Packaged: 2017-10-31 22:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/349289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somariel/pseuds/Somariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the Gaang had accepted Zuko's offer to become their prisoner?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Offer

Crouching in the bushes in front of one of the broken pillars on the terrace outside the entrance to the Western Air Temple, Zuko watched as the Avatar glided down to land beside the fountain, followed by his bison. As the Avatar's friends climbed out of the bison's saddle, he heard the Avatar talking.

"Oh, you're going to love the all-day echo chamber," the Avatar said.

Leaving the cover of the bushes, Zuko walked out to where he would be seen clearly once the bison moved out of the way. He was as nervous as hell, but he knew he had to do this. He had to join the Avatar's group. He just didn't know if they would be willing to accept him. He knew that _he'd_ be hesitant to accept someone who had done to him everything that he had done to the Avatar and his friends.

But the Avatar _did_ need a firebending teacher. Other than Uncle Iroh, he was probably the only firebender in the world who would be willing to teach the Avatar right now. They'd have to be crazy to refuse his offer of teaching. If, at the beginning, that was the only reason they accepted him, so be it. Hopefully, as time went on and he showed them that he could be trusted, they'd accept him for himself as well.

"I think that'll have to wait," he heard a female voice say.

As the Avatar's bison moved to the side, he saw the Avatar and his friends turn toward him, the expressions on their faces changing from surprise to anger as they recognized him.

"Hello," he said, raising his arm in greeting, "Zuko here."

Warily, Zuko watched as the Avatar raised his staff into an attack position, his friends also shifting their stances in preparation for an attack.

"Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here," Zuko said.

On his right, the Avatar's bison took a step toward him, growling. Taking a cautious step away from the bison, Zuko covered his face with his arms as the bison licked his back. Lowering his arms, Zuko noticed the surprised expressions on the faces of the Avatar and his lemur as the Avatar lowered his staff slightly while the bison proceeded to give his face an affectionate lick.

Wiping his face with his arm, Zuko continued, "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"Not really," the Water Tribe warrior said, "since you've followed us all over the world."

Shifting uncomfortably, Zuko said, "Right… Well, uh…anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I've changed and I, uh, I'm good now. And, well, I think I should join your group.

"Oh, and I can teach firebending…to you," he added, pointing to the Avatar, who lowered his staff further in confusion. "See, I, uh…"

"You want to what now?" the little earthbender said. It was the same voice that had said that they'd have to wait to see the temple. Looking at her pale, unfocused eyes, Zuko realized she was blind.

_That would explain how she knew I was here,_ Zuko thought. _I was being as quiet as I could, but her blindness has probably sharpened her other senses well enough for her to hear me anyway._

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?" the waterbender asked as her brother raised his fist. "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"

"Yeah," the warrior said, "all you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang."

"I've done some good things," Zuko said defensively, walking forward. "I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free," he continued, thrusting his arms toward the bison. "That's something." As he finished speaking, he was surprised to feel something large and wet travel up his back before he realized that the bison was licking him again.

_So far, so good,_ he thought. _At least I'm doing better than in my practice session._

"Appa does seem to like him," the little earthbender said as the Water Tribe siblings turned toward her briefly before angrily turning back to Zuko.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him," the warrior said. "I'm not buying it," he finished, swiping his arm to the side.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me," Zuko said, turning his head to the side, "and I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attacked our village?" the warrior asked.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace," the waterbender added, "and used it to track us down and capture us?" She stepped forward, her fists clenched in anger.

"Look, I admit I've done some awful things," Zuko said. "I was wrong to try and capture you," he continued, lowering his head and pressing his palm against his temple, "and I'm sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should've sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm gonna try to stop him."

"Wait," the warrior said, unsheathing his boomerang and brandishing it at Zuko, "you sent Combustion Man after us?"

_Oh, shit,_ Zuko thought. _Of all the things I could have said, I just_ had _to mention that. So much for things going well._ "Well, that's not his name, but…," he said aloud before the warrior cut him off.

"Oh, _sorry_ ," the warrior said sarcastically. "I didn't mean to insult your friend."

"He's not my friend," Zuko said heatedly, raising his voice.

"That guy," the little earthbender said, pointing an accusing finger at Zuko, "locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up." She finished by angrily swiping her hand down.

Zuko closed his eyes briefly before opening them again and turning his head toward the Avatar. "Why aren't you saying anything?" he asked the Avatar. "You once said you thought we could be friends." Zuko shrugged. He may not have been open to the idea at the time, but Zuko was certain that the question had been asked out of genuine interest. The Avatar looked down to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know I have good in me," Zuko finished.

Zuko watched as the Avatar looked up at his friends and saw the warrior shake his head. The Avatar turned back to look at him before saying, "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

As Zuko tried to process his surprise at this unexpected rejection, the waterbender added, "You need to get out of here now."

Closing his eyes again, Zuko gathered his courage before opening them again and looking at the group with determination. "I'm trying to explain," he said, raising his arms in frustration and stepping toward the group, "that I'm not that person anymore." He continued toward the group until the warrior took a step forward and thrust his boomerang out warningly.

As Zuko stepped back, the warrior said, "Either you leave or we attack."

Zuko was aghast. He had known that it would be hard to get the Avatar and his friends to even accept him and that they might never fully trust him, but he had at least thought that they would be willing to call a truce for the sake of teaching the Avatar firebending. Desperate, he decided to try one last time. "If you won't accept me as a friend," he said, getting down on his knees and bowing his head, "then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner." As he finished, he raised his arms out in front of him, offering them to be bound.

"No, we won't!" the waterbender said angrily, reaching for her waterskin.

"Katara, wait!" the Avatar said, reaching out and placing a restraining hand on the girl's arm. Turning back to Zuko, he asked, "Do you really mean that?"

Keeping his head bowed, Zuko swallowed down a lump in his throat. "I'll do whatever it takes for you to accept me," he said hoarsely.

"He means that, Twinkletoes," he heard the little earthbender say. "He's completely serious about that offer."

His head still bowed, Zuko heard the Avatar sigh. _Please,_ he thought, _please accept this offer._ Zuko didn't know what he would do if they even rejected having him as a prisoner.

After what seemed to be an agonizingly long time, although it was probably less than a minute in reality, the Avatar spoke again. "All right," he said. "Toph says you're serious about your offer, so we'll accept you as a prisoner." Reaching down, he untied the belt around his waist and stepped toward Zuko.

"Aang," the waterbender said, "are you sure this is a good idea? What if he tries to escape?"

"He's serious about this, Katara," the Avatar— _Aang,_ Zuko reminded himself. _His name is Aang_ —said. "He _offered_ himself as a prisoner, so I highly doubt that he'll try to get away from us. Besides, I don't know about you, but I'll feel a lot safer here knowing that we've got him locked up in some room here than I would knowing he's out there, but not knowing where he was."

"I suppose you're right," the waterbender— _Katara_ —sighed.

Stepping forward again, Aang walked over to Zuko and bound the prince's wrists tightly with his belt.

Raising his head again, Zuko was slightly surprised to realize that his cheeks were wet. He hadn't even known he was crying. Looking Aang in the eye, he rasped, "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Aang asked.

"For accepting me in any way," Zuko answered, "even if it is only as a prisoner."

"I'm only doing that because Toph said you meant it when you said you'd do whatever it takes to be accepted," Aang said.

_So Toph is the little earthbender,_ Zuko thought. "What does her verification have to do with it?" he asked, puzzled.

"She can tell if someone is lying," Aang said. "Since she said that you were being honest, I knew I could trust your offer."

"Enough chit-chat," the warrior said, coming over and roughly hauling Zuko to his feet. "Let's get Prince Jerk locked up so we can get on with more important things."

Zuko bit back a protest as the warrior called him "Prince Jerk". He knew that even the small acceptance he had gotten was a grudging one and he was not going to jeopardize it by objecting to something as trivial as an insulting name. Besides, he had to admit that there was a certain amount of truth in the name. He _had_ acted like a jerk in his previous encounters with the group.

"Sorry, Sokka," Aang said.

"So where would be a good place to keep Prince Jerk?" the warrior— _Sokka_ —asked.

"One of the meditation cells would probably be safest," Aang said.

"Do any of them have a lock?" Sokka asked.

"No," Aang said. "But Toph and I can just earthbend some rock to block the doorway."

"Lead the way, then," Sokka said, gesturing expansively. Aang started off toward one of the walkways leading off of the terrace and Zuko quickly fell in behind the young airbender, with Sokka right behind him, Katara and Toph following Sokka.


	2. Following Through

As Zuko followed the young airbender through the halls of the temple, he felt a sense of relief that he had survived this meeting, even if things hadn't worked out like he had expected them to. He was fairly certain that Aang wouldn't have killed him, but he wouldn't have put it past the Water Tribe siblings— _Katara and Sokka,_ he reminded himself. _If I'm going to have any hope of gaining their trust, I've got to start referring to them by name_ —to try to kill him and he didn't know enough about the little earthbender Toph to be able to guess what she might have been willing to do. Absorbed in his thoughts, he almost failed to notice that Aang had stopped by an open door and was barely able to keep himself from running into the boy.

"Here we are," Aang said proudly.

"Let me take a look," Sokka said, stepping around Zuko and Aang to enter the room. After a minute or two, Sokka came out of the room and took a look at the door. "Not bad," he told Aang. "Like you said, there's no lock on the door, but you've already figured out how to deal with that."

Turning to Zuko, Sokka grabbed the prince by the arm and shoved him into the room. Stumbling, Zuko tried to regain his balance before he fell on his face. It was made harder by the fact that he couldn't use his arms to help, but he finally managed to get both of his feet firmly underneath him. Walking to the back of the room, he turned to face the doorway and sat down against the wall.

Standing in the doorway, Sokka asked, "How'd you find us, anyway?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Zuko looked up at the younger boy. "Huh?" he said.

Sighing, Sokka repeated the question. "How did you find us? It's a long way from the Fire Nation capital to here, and we were flying on Appa for most of the way. How did you get here?"

"I followed you in a war balloon," Zuko said.

"Where's the war balloon now?" Sokka asked.

"I landed it in a small clearing back a little ways in the forest on top of the cliff," Zuko answered.

"Aang," Sokka said, turning to the young airbender, "I want you to take Appa and go check it out. Make sure it's not too obvious from the air and bring back any food or other items that you find there. If anyone does come across it, I don't want them to be able to tell that someone was staying there recently."

"Sure," Aang said before darting into the room and over to Zuko.

As Aang reached out to untie Zuko's hands, Sokka asked, "Aang, what do you think you're doing?"

Looking up at Sokka, Aang answered, "I'm getting my belt back."

"You're also untying the hands of a strong _firebender_ who has been our enemy nearly every time we've met him before," Sokka pointed out.

Zuko sighed. "I told you, I've changed," he said. "I'm not going to do anything."

"Come on, Sokka," Aang said. "I need my belt back. If you're really so worried, you can go find some rope or something."

"All right," Sokka said, sighing in resignation. "Go ahead and untie his hands."

Pinning Zuko with a death glare, he added sternly, "But if I find out that you've used firebending for _any_ reason _at all_ , I'll make you regret the day you were born."

Meeting the other boy's eyes levelly, Zuko said, "I understand."

"Thanks, Sokka," Aang chirped, quickly untying the belt from Zuko's hands and retying it around his own waist before leaving the room.

Sokka's gaze followed the young airbender out of the room before he turned back to Zuko. "We'll bring you something to eat later," he told the prince. Turning, he walked out of the room and said, "Okay, Toph, you can seal the doorway now. Just make sure to leave a hole for air to get in and out. I don't think Aang would like it if we let Prince Jerk die."

Zuko didn't hear any response, but Toph obviously did something, since the doorway quickly disappeared except for a gap a few inches high at the top.

In the dim light that came in through the gap, Zuko looked around the room. It was a small room, about six feet wide and six feet deep. Well, the airbender had said it was a meditation cell. Sighing, Zuko removed his robe and folded it neatly before placing it on the floor. Since there was nothing else to do in here, he might as well get some rest.

:-:-:-:-:

Later that evening, the four friends, along with Haru, Teo, and The Duke, gathered around a fire at the back of the terrace for dinner. They were quietly listening to Teo and The Duke describe what they had found during their exploration of the temple earlier in the day when Haru noticed Zuko's swords propped against the wall beside the bag holding the other things that Zuko had brought with him. "Where'd the dao swords come from?" he asked, pointing at them.

Looking up from his food, Sokka's gaze followed Haru's finger to the swords. "Oh yeah," Sokka said. "We probably should've told you sooner, but we've got a prisoner shut up in one of the meditation cells."

"A prisoner?" Haru echoed. "Did something happen while we were exploring today?"

"Yeah," Sokka said, "something did. Prince Zuko showed up saying that he'd changed and wanted to join us. None of us really believed him, but when he offered himself as a prisoner, Aang decided that he'd rather have Prince Jerk in the temple as our prisoner than have him somewhere outside the temple, roaming free."

"The Firelord's son showed up?" Teo said.

"Yep," Toph said. "He did."

"How'd he find us?" Haru asked.

"I asked him the same thing," Sokka said. "He says that he followed us in a war balloon. Anyway, to answer your original question, after we closed him up in one of the meditation cells, I sent Aang up to Prince Jerk's campsite to make sure it wasn't too visible and had him bring back whatever he found there."

"We were planning on examining his things after dinner," Katara added. "Toph thinks that looking at what he brought with him might help us figure out if he's really changed."

"Actually," Toph said, "I think it will help them realize that he really has changed. I already know it."

"What makes you so certain of that?" Haru asked.

"I can sense if someone is lying," Toph said, "and Zuko was being honest and sincere the entire time he was talking to us."

"Speaking of Zuko," Aang said, "someone ought to go bring him some dinner."

"Not you, Aang," Katara said quickly.

"I'll do it," Sokka said. "Toph, will you come to open the door for me?"

"Sure thing, Snoozles," Toph said.

"Here," Katara said, handing Sokka a bowl of rice. "Wait for him to finish and bring the bowl back when he's done."

:-:-:-:-:

Zuko was lying on his back, head pillowed by his robe, when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Sitting up, he pressed his back to the wall opposite the gap that was all that was left of the doorway and waited. Shortly, the gap expanded back into a full doorway again, revealing Toph and Sokka standing in the hall. Sokka was holding a bowl of rice in one hand.

"Here," Sokka said, holding the bowl out toward Zuko. "Dinner."

Slowly and carefully, Zuko got to his feet and walked forward to take the bowl from Sokka's hand. "Thank you," he said, retreating to the far wall and sitting back down before starting to eat. He was about halfway done with his meal when he realized that the other two were still there. Glaring at the younger boy, Zuko asked, "Is there a reason you're watching me eat or are you just amusing yourself?"

Toph snorted with laughter. "Sweetness told Snoozles to stay until you finished so he can bring the bowl back."

"Sweetness? Snoozles?" Zuko echoed, an amused grin working its way onto his face.

"Don't even think about it," Sokka said flatly, giving Zuko a death glare to match the one from earlier in the day. "Toph's the only one who gets to call us those names."

"I wasn't," Zuko said before he continued eating. When he had finished, he put the bowl down on the floor and shoved it toward Sokka.

Sokka picked up the bowl and turned toward the doorway before pausing. "We're going to take a look at your stuff tonight," he told Zuko. "Someone will bring it to you tomorrow after we've removed anything dangerous."

"My swords are the only things I brought that I'd consider dangerous," Zuko replied.

"We'll see," Sokka said. With that, he left the room.

Toph walked into the hall and then stopped. Turning toward Zuko, she said, "Don't worry, Firecracker. They'll come around soon." As she finished speaking, the doorway began to shrink until it was just the small gap that had been there earlier.

Zuko sighed and stretched out, lying on his back again with his head cushioned by his robe. _At least one of them believes me,_ he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

:-:-:-:-:

After Toph and Sokka returned with the bowl that had held Zuko's dinner, Aang got up and brought the bag containing Zuko's things over to the fire. As everyone gathered closer around the fire, Sokka opened the bag and said, "Okay, who wants to be the first one to reach into Zuko's Bag of Mystery?"

"I do!" Toph said, sitting forward excitedly.

"Very well then," Sokka said, holding the mouth of the bag toward the little earthbender.

Toph reached into the bag and grabbed the first thing she touched. Pulling it out of the bag, she asked, "What is it? It feels like a thin board, but Zuko doesn't seems like the type to bring along something so useless."

"It's a picture of his uncle," Katara said.

"First point toward proving that Zuko really has changed," Toph said. "We know Zuko's uncle is on our side, since he helped Katara get away with Aang after Azula shot Aang in Ba Sing Se. Given that Zuko sided _against_ his uncle in Ba Sing Se, I'd say that it's indicative of a change of heart for him to have considered a picture of his uncle important enough to bring along when he left."

"Or maybe he just feels guilty about that," Katara said. "If he'd really changed, he would have freed his uncle before he left, but I don't see his uncle anywhere around here."

"What's to say he didn't and they simply decided to split up?" Toph countered.

"What reason would they have to split up?" Katara asked hotly. "Zuko knows that we know that his uncle is on our side, so wouldn't he want his uncle here to vouch for the fact that he's really changed?"

"Okay," Sokka said, interrupting the exchange before it could turn into a fight, "someone can ask him about his uncle tomorrow. Who wants to reach in next?"

They all took turns reaching into the bag, revealing some food and several items that didn't contribute to either side of the argument over whether or not Zuko had really changed. Finally, from the very bottom of the bag, Aang pulled out a cloth-wrapped object that was about as big around as the palm of his hand and twice that in height.

"What is it?" asked Katara.

"I don't know," Aang said as he carefully unwrapped the object, "but I've got a strange feeling about it." As he finished saying this, he pulled back the last layer of cloth to reveal a Fire Nation hair piece. "Ohh," Aang breathed when he saw what he was holding, a reverent expression on his face.

"Aang?" Katara asked anxiously. "Are you all right?"

"Huh?" Aang said, shaking his head to clear it. "Oh, I'm fine, Katara," he continued. "But I definitely need to talk to Zuko tomorrow. I need to talk to him alone."

"Why?" Teo asked.

"I need to know how he got this and I need to find out if he knows exactly what this is," Aang said.

"What _is_ it?" Katara asked. "What about this hair piece is so important that you need to ask Zuko about it privately?"

"This is the hair piece that Sozin gave to Roku right before Roku left the Fire Nation to master the other elements," Aang said.


	3. New Information

The next morning, Zuko woke up slowly, feeling rather stiff and sore, as if he had been sleeping on a cold, hard surface all night. _That's because I_ was _sleeping on a cold, hard surface all night,_ he thought. Thinking back to what had happened the day before, he hoped that the Avatar and his friends had at least realized that he wasn't their enemy anymore.

 _I really shouldn't have mentioned that assassin,_ he realized. _I'm not sure why I_ did _mention him, unless it was because I was assuming they had already realized that I was the one who set him on their trail. I suppose that they were bound to learn that eventually, so it's probably better that they learned about it now than it would have been if they learned about it after they had accepted me._

Sitting up, Zuko began to stretch slowly, trying to restore feeling to limbs numb from resting on the hard, cold stone all night. He was in the middle of stretching his left arm when the gap in the wall that gave him light and air opened up into a full doorway. Looking up, he was surprised to see, not Sokka and Toph, but Aang himself, a bowl of rice in one hand and Zuko's bag slung over his shoulder.

"Good morning," Aang said, easing the bag off of his shoulder and onto the floor. "I brought your bag and your breakfast."

"Thank you," Zuko said, reaching out to take the bowl of rice. As he began to eat, he noticed the light dimming as the doorway closed down to a small gap once more.

Assuming that Aang had left, Zuko was surprised to hear Aang's quiet voice say, "I have some questions that I need to ask you."

Looking around the room, Zuko realized that he and Aang were completely alone, with no one else in the room. "How'd you talk Katara into letting you see me alone?" Zuko asked.

"I didn't give her a choice," Aang said. "I told her that Roku's spirit had said that I needed to talk to you alone and if she wanted to argue, she should take it up with him."

"Oh," Zuko said. "I guess it is sort of hard to argue with a spirit." Putting the bowl down on the floor, Zuko asked, "What do you need to know?"

"Well, this question really falls under 'want to know'," Aang said, "but we were wondering where your uncle is."

"I don't know," Zuko said, looking at his lap, a slightly mournful expression on his face. "I had planned to free him before I left the capital, but by the time I reached the prison, he had already broken himself out."

Aang reached into Zuko's bag and took out Roku's hair piece. Holding it out to Zuko, Aang asked, "Do you know what this is?"

"It's the hair piece that Sozin gave Roku before Roku left to be trained as the Avatar," Zuko answered.

"Yes," Aang said. "How did you get it?"

"My uncle gave it to me," Zuko said. "And before you ask, no, I don't know how he got it."

"Okay," Aang said. "Why did your uncle give it to you?"

"I'm not entirely sure why he gave it to me," Zuko said slowly, "but he gave it to me right after telling me that Roku was my great-grandfather."

"I thought Sozin was your great-grandfather," Aang said, confused.

"On my father's side," Zuko said. "Uncle Iroh said that Roku was my mother's grandfather."

"So you're descended from both Roku _and_ Sozin?" Aang asked. The airbender sounded very surprised.

"Yes," Zuko said. "Uncle said that understanding the struggle between Roku and Sozin would help me better understand the struggle within myself because good and evil are always at war within me. He said that that war is my legacy, but that because of that legacy, I also have the power within me to restore balance to the world."

"I see," Aang said, a thoughtful look on his face. "You've given me a lot to think about." Getting to his feet, Aang held out the hair piece and asked, "Do you mind if I take this with me while I think?"

"Go ahead," Zuko said. "If you believe that it will help you think about all this, I'm not going to object."

"Thank you," Aang said as he opened the doorway again. Then he stepped out of the room and closed the doorway back down to a small gap, leaving Zuko alone once more.

:-:-:-:-:

It was getting on toward dinnertime and Katara was starting to worry. She hadn't seen Aang since right after breakfast, when he went to go talk to Zuko. She hadn't wanted to let Aang see Zuko by himself, but when he had insisted that he was following instructions from Roku, she had given in even though she had a sneaking suspicion that Roku had not actually given any such instructions. Still, even if her suspicion was correct, Aang obviously felt that it was important enough to lie about having talked to Roku.

Finally, when Aang did not show up for dinner, Katara brought her concerns out into the open. "Has anyone else seen Aang today?" she asked as she served out the rice.

Every answer was some variation on "not since breakfast".

"The same goes for me," she said once everyone else had answered the question. "I haven't seen him since he went to talk to Zuko."

"Do you think that Zuko did something with him?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not sure what else could have happened," Katara said. "I can't imagine that he's been talking to Zuko all day."

"Whoa, slow down," Toph said. "Before we start assuming the worst, why don't we find out if Zuko is still here. Sokka and I can go check on him under the pretext of bringing his dinner. If Zuko's still sealed in the meditation cell, then Twinkletoes disappeared on his own and we have nothing to worry about."

"Even if Aang did disappear on his own, it's still possible that Zuko hurt him somehow," Katara said.

"Twinkletoes can take care of himself, Katara," Toph said, "but if you're really that worried about him, we can search the temple after Sokka and I check on Zuko."

:-:-:-:-:

Zuko was sitting against the wall, meditating with his eyes closed, when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Opening his eyes, he waited to see who it was. As the gap in the wall widened into a doorway again, it revealed Sokka and Toph standing in the hall. Like the night before, Sokka had a bowl of rice in his hand.

"Looks like it's dinnertime again," Zuko said.

"Yes," Sokka replied. "But first we have some questions for you."

"What do you want to know?" Zuko said.

"When was the last time you saw Aang today?" Sokka asked.

"This morning, when he brought my stuff and my breakfast," Zuko said. "He left after asking me some questions."

"What did he ask you about?" Sokka asked.

"He wanted to know where my uncle was," Zuko said.

"Did he ask you about anything else?" Sokka asked.

"What's it to you if he did?" Zuko snapped. "It's not like I did anything to him."

"Calm down, Firecracker," Toph said. "We weren't saying you had."

"Why are you asking me, anyway?" Zuko said bitterly. "It's obvious you don't trust me. If you want to know what we talked about, you could just ask him."

"Actually, we can't ask him," Toph said. "We're asking you because no one's seen Twinkletoes today since he left to talk to you and Sweetness is getting worried."

"Well, if you're hoping that I know where he is, you're out of luck," Zuko said. "He didn't say anything about where he was going."

"What did he say?" Sokka asked.

"He said that I'd given him a lot to think about," Zuko said.

"Was this 'a lot to think about' related to Roku's hair piece?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, it was," Zuko said. "And no, I won't tell you what it is. I want to know what Aang thinks about it before I tell anyone else."

"Okay," said Toph. "While I'm thinking of it, though, where _is_ your uncle?"

"I don't know," Zuko said. "I was going to free him before I left, but he broke himself out of prison during the eclipse and was gone by the time I got there."

:-:-:-:-:

It was nearly an hour and a half after Toph and Sokka had talked to Zuko by the time Aang finally reappeared. Naturally, Toph was the first one to notice him.

"Hey," she said into the silence that had fallen around the fire, "Twinkletoes is coming."

Everyone looked up to see Aang approaching with a thoughtful, somewhat pensive look on his face.

"Aang!" Katara cried. "Where have you been? You've been missing all day."

"Sorry, Katara," Aang said as he took a seat in the circle around the fire. "I've been in the sanctuary, sitting in front of Roku's statue. I needed some time to myself to think about what Zuko told me."

"So are you going to tell us what it was that you needed the entire day to think about it?" Sokka asked.

"Yes," Aang said. "What he told me made me realize that there is a very good reason for the…confusion he's shown in his past actions. I think that he is, at the very least, genuinely _trying_ to change. We need to give him a chance to prove himself."

"He's already had a chance to prove himself," Katara said angrily, "or have you forgotten what happened in Ba Sing Se? While we were in prison together, he started talking about his mother and making it seem like he was an actual human being with feelings. I got the sense that he was really confused and hurt. But when the time came, he made his choice and we paid the price."

"Just hear me out," Aang said calmly. He had known that Katara wasn't going to take this well, so he wasn't surprised by her immediate rejection of the idea. "What he told me today is something he didn't know when he was in Ba Sing Se."

"All right," Katara said, sighing heavily, "but it's going to take a lot to convince me."

"We all know that this war is being fought in the physical world," Aang said, "but in a sense, it is also being fought in the spiritual world, within Zuko's own soul."

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka asked.

"I mean that good and evil are at war within his very being," Aang said. "We know that, as the Firelord's son, Zuko is descended from Firelord Sozin on his father's side. But on his mother's side, he is descended from Avatar Roku."

"What?" Katara cried. "He's descended from both Roku _and_ Sozin?"

"Yes," Aang said. "He says that his uncle told him that Avatar Roku was his mother's grandfather. The confusion he has shown in the past stems from the war between Roku's good and Sozin's evil that is occurring within his spirit."

"Even assuming that this is true," Sokka said, "how does this mean that he's trying to change? And how do we know that he'll be able to stick with any change he makes?"

Aang sighed. "Every time we've met Zuko before, he was being pulled in two different directions by the two sides of his heritage. But because he didn't know _why_ he was being pulled in opposite directions, it confused him and in his confusion, he found it easiest to simply go in the direction he had always gone in. Now, however, he _knows_ why he's being pulled in opposite directions and having that knowledge has allowed him to make a _conscious_ choice between them instead of simply letting his confusion guide him down the familiar path. And now that he has truly _chosen_ his path, he has left the confusion behind him and he knows that he needs to _think_ about his choices before he makes them, lest he deviate from his chosen direction."

"Okay," Sokka said, "I guess that I can see what you're saying. But that doesn't mean we should just go and give him our complete trust."

"I didn't say that we should," Aang replied. "All I said was that we need to give him a chance to prove that he is worthy of being trusted."

:-:-:-:-:

After Sokka and Toph left him, Zuko leaned back against the wall to think. It appeared that Aang was doing some serious thinking about what Zuko had told him. It was too much to hope that the young airbender would give Zuko his complete trust, but Zuko hoped that the boy would at least decide to give him a chance to prove himself. Realizing that there was nothing else he could do until Aang returned to his friends, Zuko stretched out under the blanket that he had had in his bag, put his head down on his folded robe, and went to sleep.

Zuko wasn't sure how long he had been asleep before Sokka shook him awake, but it couldn't have been too long, since he felt just as tired as he had when he had gone to sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them and looked up at the younger boy. "What is it?" he asked.

"Aang's back," Sokka replied. "He's done a lot of thinking about what you told him and he's made some good points in your favor, but we've still got some questions that we want answered before we make any decisions."

"So, what, you came to ask me those questions?" Zuko said.

"No," Sokka replied. "I came to bring you out so that everyone can hear the answers from your own mouth."

"Just let me put on my robe," Zuko said. Putting words into action, he was quickly ready to follow Sokka to wherever the others were waiting for him. Following the younger boy into the hall, he heard the little earthbender Toph fall in behind him. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Out to the room at the back of the terrace where you talked to us yesterday," Sokka replied.

When they got there, Zuko was surprised to see three unfamiliar faces in addition to Aang and Katara. There was a boy with a mustache who was probably about his own age, a boy in some kind of chair on wheels who looked to be about the same age as Aang, and a little boy with an oversized helmet who couldn't have been any older than eight.

Looking up at the sound of their footsteps, Aang's face broke into a smile. "Oh, good, you're here," he said. "Take a seat."

Sitting down on Aang's right, Toph patted the ground to her own right. "Right here, Firecracker, between me and Sokka."

Taking the offered spot, Zuko settled himself on the ground. Once Zuko was seated, Sokka sat down on his other side and began to speak. "So Aang's told us what you told him about being descended from both Roku _and_ Sozin and he's explained how he realized that your dual heritage was the reason you've always seemed so confused, but we want to know what it was that caused you to change. You've always been our enemy before, so what made you decide that you wanted to join us?"

Zuko sighed. "It's…complicated," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"So explain it," Sokka said.

"It's sort of hard to explain," Zuko said, "and it involves things that I really do not like to talk about."

"Too bad," Katara said harshly. "You'd better talk about it."

"I—I _can't_!" Zuko cried. "It's too painful for me." He just _couldn't_ talk about the Agni Kai and his banishment. He simply could not. Not only was it a painful subject for him, but the Avatar and his friends—well, really, it was Katara he was worried about—might think he was playing for sympathy.

"What do you mean when you say it's too painful?" Aang asked.

"I've never actually had to tell anyone about it," Zuko said. "Sometimes, if someone accidentally reminds me about it, I'll burst out in anger, but everyone else who knows was either present when it happened or heard from someone other than me."

"So you don't want to talk about the details," Sokka said. "Can you give us a general explanation, one that doesn't go into the specifics?"

"I'll try," Zuko said. Rubbing his hand against his forehead for a while, he finally spoke again. "Let's just say that I've been through a lot in the past few years and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know my destiny is to help Aang restore balance to the world."

"I've got one more question for you," Aang said. "Why did you send Combustion Man after us?"

"I suppose you could say that I panicked," Zuko answered. "When I saw my father for the first time in three years, I learned that Azula had given _me_ the credit for taking you down in Ba Sing Se. Somehow, she figured out that I had lied when I told her that there was no way you could have survived. We both knew that if you were alive, I'd lose anything that I had gained from her lie, so I was desperate to make sure that you did end up dead."

"And since you couldn't take care of it yourself without having everyone else find out that Aang was still alive, you hired him," Sokka finished.

"Exactly," Zuko said. "Like I told you guys yesterday, though, I'm gonna try to stop him."

"All right," Aang said. "You've answered our questions to my satisfaction."

"I'm satisfied too," Toph said.

"It's clear that there's a lot you haven't told us," Sokka said, "but what you have told us is good enough for now."

"If the three of you are all satisfied, then so am I," Katara said.

"Okay," Aang said, turning to Zuko. "You can consider yourself to be on probation. We're going to give you a chance to prove yourself to us, but there are some conditions you're going to have to obey."

"What are the conditions?" Zuko asked.

"First," Sokka said, "no firebending."

Zuko ground his teeth silently. Did they know how hard that would be? _Of course they do,_ he thought. _Three of them are benders as well. That's why they included it. They want to test just how committed I am to joining them._ Then something occurred to him. "Am I allowed to practice the forms?" he asked. Going through the motions of the _katas_ without actually bending wasn't quite the same as real practice, but it was better than nothing.

Sokka thought about it for a moment. "As long as you don't actually produce any fire," he said finally. "Now, back to the conditions. Second, you'll continue to sleep in that room and you'll be sealed in at night, although we'll leave it open during the day. Third, you must have someone else with you at all times, unless you are either in your room or out on this terrace. Are you willing to accept those conditions?"

"I am," Zuko said. It was an annoyed willingness, but he was willing. Restricting his movements and keeping him under nearly constant watch wasn't necessary, since he had no intention of betraying them. They might not believe that, but it was true and that was what made the restrictions annoying.

"In that case," Sokka said, "allow me to introduce the other members of our little group. From oldest to youngest, we have Haru, Teo, and The Duke."

"Pleased to meet you," Zuko said, giving a seated bow in the direction of the three unfamiliar faces he had noticed earlier.

"And now," Sokka said, "it's time for you to go back to your room so we can all get some sleep."


	4. Probation

On the first morning of his probation, Zuko woke early and was doing breathing exercises when Aang came to let him out and bring him to breakfast. Following Aang out to the terrace, Zuko asked the young airbender how his friends felt about letting him be alone with Zuko.

"Well," Aang said, "Katara is completely against it, but Toph and I managed to convince her that the only way to find out if you can be trusted to be alone with me is to let it happen occasionally. Sokka is skeptical but he's willing to give you a chance and Toph trusts you."

"And how do _you_ feel about being alone with me?" Zuko asked.

"After everything you've done in the past, I'm not ready to give you my full trust," Aang said, "but I do trust Toph completely and since _she_ trusts you, I'm willing to give you some of my trust. Katara's lack of trust is at least half the reason that you're getting sealed in at night. She doesn't want to give you an opportunity to kidnap me while everyone else is sleeping."

"To be honest," Zuko said, "I don't know what I'd do with you if I did. When I was trying to capture you before, it was so that I could regain my honor and my father would let me come home again. Given that he tried to kill me when I told him I was going to join you, I don't think he'd accept me back under any circumstances now."

By then, the two of them had reached the terrace and Zuko was immediately hailed by Toph.

"Over here, Firecracker," she called.

Taking the offered seat, Zuko accepted a bowl of rice from Katara and began to eat.

"Hey, Zuko," The Duke said, "after breakfast, do you want to come explore the temple with me and Teo?"

Looking up from his food, Zuko swallowed his current mouthful and replied, "I'd be happy to."

"Just remember," Katara said, "you must have one of them with you at all times."

Biting back a nasty retort, Zuko said calmly, "I remember." _Does she really think that I'd forget that?_ he thought, annoyed. Turning to Sokka, Zuko said, "I forgot to ask this last night. How long am I going to be on probation?"

"We're not sure," Sokka said. "It's going to depend at least in part on what you do and how well you follow the rules that we've set down."

:-:-:-:-:

That day quickly set a pattern for the ones to follow. In the morning, Aang would come let Zuko out of his room and escort him to breakfast. After breakfast, Zuko would explore the temple with Teo and The Duke until lunchtime. After lunch, Zuko would practice his firebending forms on the terrace and perform some pattern dances with his swords while Teo and The Duke watched. Once Zuko finished with his weapons practice, the three of them would explore the temple again until it was time for dinner. After dinner, Aang would escort Zuko back to his room and the two boys would spend a little time just talking with each other before Aang sealed Zuko in for the night.

On the fourth day of his probation, Zuko got a large surprise when Sokka stepped in and turned his pattern dance into a real sparring match. Caught off guard by the unexpected opposition, Zuko was on the defensive for much of the match. It finally ended when Sokka managed to back Zuko up against one of the fountain's pillars and disarm him. Panting with exertion and covered with sweat, Zuko gasped out, "Who… _trained_ …you?" as he sat down on the edge of the fountain.

"Master Piandao," Sokka said proudly, as he sheathed his sword on his back.

"You," Zuko said, pointing at Sokka in shock, "trained with Master Piandao?"

"Yes, I did," Sokka replied.

"Did he know you were from the Water Tribe?" Zuko asked.

"He apparently knew that from the moment I gave him my name," Sokka said, "although I didn't find that out until after I had told him the truth myself."

"He knew that you were from the Water Tribe and he still agreed to train you?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"I was surprised, too," Sokka said, "but when Katara asked him why, he said, 'The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation. Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all.'"

:-:-:-:-:

It was around mid-afternoon of the fifth day of Zuko's probation that things changed. Zuko and Teo were trying to open a chest in one of the rooms while The Duke looked out the window. Suddenly, The Duke said, "Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Zuko asked, looking up from the chest.

"Who's that?" The Duke repeated, pointing out the window.

Letting his gaze follow The Duke's finger, Zuko finally saw who he was asking about. Standing on the next building over and moving towards the terrace was the assassin he had hired. The assassin he needed to stop. "Trouble," Zuko answered tersely. Pulling The Duke in close to Teo, Zuko got down on one knee so that his head was on their level. "Listen closely," he told the two boys. "I need you to go find the others and tell them to keep out of sight, especially Aang."

"What are you going to be doing?" Teo asked.

"I'm going to be dealing with the man that The Duke saw," Zuko said.

"But doesn't one of us need to come with you?" The Duke asked.

"Not this time," Zuko said. "I'm the one who's responsible for setting that man on Aang's trail, so I'm the one who needs to stop him. Now go!"

Zuko pushed the younger boys out the door and into the hall before turning and racing toward the stairs that led up to the top level where all of the buildings were connected. Racing up the stairs, Zuko quickly reached the top level and headed for the stairs that led into the building where he had seen the assassin. Once he reached the level above the one where he had seen the assassin, he scrambled out one of the windows and found a vine that he could use to swing down to the next level and surprise the assassin.

As he swung toward the assassin, Zuko noticed that Aang and his friends were gathered on the terrace near the fountain. _Damn,_ he thought, _Teo and The Duke didn't make it there in time. Well, it's not like I really expected them to. I mostly said that so that they'd have a reason not to follow me._ Leaping off the vine, Zuko allowed the momentum of his swing to propel him into the assassin's side just as he began to fire, throwing off the assassin's aim so that his shot hit the ledge above the terrace instead of the group by the fountain.

Getting to his feet, Zuko walked toward the assassin. "Stop!" he called. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore." Planting himself in front of the assassin, Zuko spread his arms out to block the man. "The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop."

The assassin simply shoved Zuko to the side and fired again. Tumbling to a stop far to the assassin's left, Zuko got to his feet again and began to run towards the man, summoning fire into his hand as he moved.

"If you keep attacking, I won't pay you," he shouted as he approached the assassin. The assassin's only response was to stop Zuko by grabbing his shirt. Throwing the fireball anyway, Zuko was not surprised when it hit the ground instead of the assassin. "All right," he shouted at the assassin, "I'll pay you double to stop."

Slamming his arms down onto the assassin's arm, Zuko broke free of the man's grasp and executed a side kick to the man's midsection just as he fired again. The impact of the kick had the effect of both knocking the assassin's aim off and knocking Zuko away from the man. Landing on his hands and knees, Zuko half-turned as he rose, only to see the assassin coming toward him. As the assassin fired at him, Zuko created a shield of flame to block the assassin's shot. Blown back by the resulting explosion, Zuko was knocked off of the ledge and only managed to save himself by grabbing a vine dangling down from above.

As Zuko made his slow way back up the vine, he heard the sounds of the battle continuing above him. Finally, just as he neared the top of the vine, the battle ended with the biggest explosion yet, blowing the next building over to pieces. Pulling himself back up onto the ledge, Zuko climbed back into the building through a window and raced toward the terrace.

Reaching the terrace, Zuko walked toward the group of friends. "I'm sorry," he said as he reached them. "I broke the rules you set down by using firebending and being alone. I'll get my things and leave."

As he turned to go, Zuko heard Sokka call, "Wait! Zuko, hold on a minute."

Turning back to face the group again, Zuko looked at them curiously.

"Yes, you did break the rules we set for your probation," Sokka said, "but that doesn't matter. You're not on probation anymore."

"I'm not?" Zuko asked, surprise showing clearly on his face.

"You were off probation the second you tried to stop Combustion Man," Aang said.

"I was?" Zuko said curiously.

"Yes, you were," Sokka said. "That's what I meant when I said that what you did was going to be part of determining how long you would be on probation."

"What would you have done if he hadn't showed up?" Zuko asked.

"If a full month had passed without him showing up," Toph said, "then you would have been taken off probation as long as you had followed all of the rules we set during that month."

"Anyway," Aang said, walking over and giving Zuko a hug, "welcome to the group."


	5. Epilogue

Now that Zuko was off probation, Sokka showed him to a real room. "So here you go," the younger boy said, "home sweet home for now."

"Thanks," Zuko said, giving Sokka an awkward smile before dropping his bag and his swords on the bed.

"No problem," said Sokka. "Now grab your swords and come on."

"Huh?" Zuko said, surprised by the sudden change of topic. "Why do I need my swords?"

"For a rematch," Sokka said. "You weren't giving it your all when I sparred with you yesterday and we both know it."

"You're right," Zuko said. "I was afraid to try anything too aggressive while I was still on probation."

"Well, come on, then," Sokka said. "I want to see what you can do when you're really trying your hardest. Or are you afraid of losing again?"

"No," Zuko said. "Just make sure to tell the others what we're doing before we start. I don't want to lose what trust I've gained from them nor do I want them attacking me because they think that you're in trouble."

"Okay," Sokka said before turning and leaving the room. Zuko grabbed his swords and followed the younger boy out to the terrace. When he got out there, he found that a small audience had gathered—Teo, Haru, The Duke, Aang, and Toph.

"Did you tell them?" he asked Sokka.

"Yes, I did," Sokka said. "They all want to watch."

"As long as they stay out of our way," Zuko said.

"We will," Aang said.

"Okay, then," Zuko said, drawing his swords with one smooth and swift motion. "Are you ready?" he asked Sokka.

"I am," Sokka said, drawing his own sword.

"Then let's begin," Zuko said. And with that, he launched his first attack.

It quickly became evident that this match was going to be quite different from the one that had occurred the previous day. Zuko was much more confident in his movements, frequently intercepting Sokka's attacks almost before the younger boy had started them and Sokka soon found himself on the defensive most of the time. The match lasted longer than the one the day before had, since both of the participants were doing their best to win, but all too soon, Sokka found himself disarmed, with the point of one of Zuko's blades at his throat.

"I yield," the Water Tribe warrior said, panting heavily.

"Was that more like what you were expecting yesterday?" Zuko asked as he resheathed his blades.

"Yes," Sokka said as he retrieved his own sword and resheathed it. "It also makes me very glad that you stuck to bending all of the previous times we fought you. I don't think we would have stood a chance of beating you if you had used your swords."

"Well, I have had three years to master them," Zuko said. "It was one more thing that I could use to occupy my time during my banishment."

:-:-:-:-:

The atmosphere at dinner that evening was much more relaxed than it had been since Zuko had been accepted on probation. Instead of Zuko feeling like an intruder, the others made an effort to include him in the conversation and the joking. Well, most of the others did. Katara still was giving him the cold shoulder, complete with looks that sent a shiver down his spine with the pure hatred in them. Sensing that she had something that she wanted to say to him without the presence of the rest of the group, Zuko got to his feet.

"I'm feeling pretty tired," he told the others. "I think I'll go to bed now."

As the rest of them—except for Katara—chorused "good night", Zuko headed off to his room. When he got there, he took a seat on the bed and waited. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Katara appeared in the doorway, giving him an icy glare.

"What do you want, Katara?" Zuko asked, getting to his feet.

"You might have everyone else here buying your 'transformation'," she said venomously, "but you and I both know that you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past." As she said this, she walked toward Zuko, stopping a few feet away and leaning forward threateningly. "So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang…and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there…Permanently."

As Zuko stared at her in shock, she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything follows canon from this point on.


End file.
